# Chapter 10 – A New Start

Picard turned to leave sickbay, but then hesitated. The alarms were still blaring, but he appeared to be oblivious of them. He was weighing something in his mind. After a moment he turned back to face Seven. "Can you still hear the voices?" he asked tentatively.

Seven was now sitting up on her biobed. Chakotay was at her side, ready to confront Picard if necessary, while Doctor Beverly Crusher stood behind them both. The only one else in sickbay was T'Vora who remained on another nearby biobed still unconscious. The rest of the Val Jean crew had already been discharged and were with the others. "What do you mean?" Seven asked.

"The Borg. Do you still hear the voices of the Hive Mind?"

Seven's eyes widened slightly. "I don't want to hear them," she confessed. The thought of the Borg back in her mind disturbed her. The total loss of control and individuality. The things she was forced to do.

Picard seemed to waver, but then stepped forward to Seven's biobed. "Seven," he said. "Listen to me. Years after I was disconnected from the Borg, even with no Borg implants remaining within me, there was still a residual connection. When the Borg returned with a single cube to attack Earth, I was able to use that connection to eavesdrop on the Hive Mind's thoughts. I could hear them think."

"Seven wants nothing to do with the Borg," Chakotay interrupted. He stepped forward and placed his arm down on the biobed, as if to block Seven from these suggestions.

"But don't you see," Picard replied looking back and forth between both of them. He pursed his lips. "Three cubes imply this is a major Borg faction. This incursion is extremely unusual for the Borg since their civil war began. It would be advantageous for us to understand their motivation, if we can, before we engage them."

"Borg cubes are closing sir," Commander Riker's voice came over the comm. "Towing the Val Jean is slowing us down."

"Just a minute Number One," Picard replied impatiently. There was desperation in his eyes.

Seven regarded the man in front of her. Moments before he had stated his intent to turn her over to Star Fleet Research, but now there was a subtle change in his voice and manner. He was looking at her differently. She lifted Chakotay's arm from the biobed and placed his hand in hers, and then to Picard said, "I can try Captain. How should I proceed?"

Picard stepped up closer, as if he was going to divulge a secret. "I'm not certain. The voices were simply always there when the Borg were nearby. For some reason now, however, I can't hear them anymore. Close your eyes. Listen for them."

Seven did as he instructed. At first, there was nothing. She could feel Chakotay's presence close to her, the tension in his body transmitted through their contact. She could hear Picard and the Doctor's breathing as well. The rest of sickbay was silent. And then, a whisper, as if catching a half heard conversation just barely audible through the wall. A many-voiced ghost began to speak in her mind. It was terrifying.

"Don't be frightened Seven," she heard Picard say. "Just listen to their thoughts."

She realized after a moment that she was holding Chakotay's arm with both her hands now. He was bending down over the biobed for she had been pulling on him. "Don't worry Seven, I'm here," Chakotay reassured her.

She closed her eyes again, and the voices were closer, whispering their thoughts into her mind. Many voices. A cacophony of thought.

"They're interested in the Val Jean," Seven whispered as the thoughts took shape, ebbing and flowing like a tide. She then winced. It was too much like her time connected to the Hive Mind, and the memories were like a raw nerve just exposed. She felt Chakotay put his other arm around her, and so she moved closer to him for comfort and support. No one else breathed. "The spheres were assimilated. How did they resist?" she said.

"The spheres?" Picard asked.

"No, the Val Jean." Seven corrected. "How did the Val Jean resist?"

"What of the Enterprise? What is their interest?" Picard probed further.

The voices were now louder. Too many of them. Waves breaking on the shore, threatening to engulf her and pull her in. A swirling chaos of thought. Too much like the Hive Mind. "How do I make them stop?" Seven asked, some fear in her voice.

Picard moved up closer to Seven. "It is just their thoughts." he said. "They are not really here. Open your eyes You are an individual Seven. They are not here. You are not Borg."

Seven opened her eyes, but they refused to focus. The Borg were aware of her presence in their mind. Could they read her thoughts as well? No. They were searching, but she was hidden.

"Seven, you are an individual," Picard repeated. "The Borg have no hold on you."

The voices waned and were now back to whispers. A door was shut. The sound of waves on a distant beach. Her grip on Chakotay's arm slackened a bit. The voices were almost gone. Seven sighed heavily. Her heart was racing. It was an experience she didn't ever want to repeat. She looked up at Picard who seemed to be regarding both her and Chakotay with curiosity. They were both still tangled together in an awkward embrace.

"Did you learn anything more?" Chakotay asked.

"This Borg faction assimilated the two spheres when they returned to the trans-warp hub," Seven explained, filling in the details. "They now wonder how the Val Jean was able to resist. This faction wants to assimilate that knowledge by assimilated the Val Jean."

Picard was the first to realize the implications. "Does the Val Jean's computer core contain the nanoprobe information?" Picard asked.

Seven nodded, and then glanced to T'Vora, still lying unconscious on a nearby biobed. "T'Vora was helping me," she said. "Her hope was to duplicate the procedure without the need to have me as a donor. She was close to a solution, but all her research is on the Val Jean's computers."

"And perhaps elsewhere," Chakotay added. "T'Vora was always carrying around a PADD."

Picard turned to Doctor Crusher. "Can we revive T'Vora?"

Crusher shook her head. "I wouldn't advise it. Selar has not yet performed the requisite mine meld."

"I know where to find her PADD," Seven interjected.

"Then there's not a moment to lose," Picard replied. "We must retrieve the Val Jean's computer core and any other vital information." Picard then turned to Chakotay. "Your logs from the past ten years hold priceless information about the Delta Quadrant. We can't lose that either."

There was a sound of distant explosions, and the inertial dampers didn't remove all the residual shaking.

"We're under attack by the lead cube," Riker commented over the comm. "Returning fire."

"What of the Enterprise?" Picard repeated his earlier question to Seven, a sense of urgency in his voice.

Seven hesitated. "I don't think anything specific," she finally said. "Only a feeling. A thought. 'Not yet.'"

A chilling thought at that. Picard touched his comm badge, "Number One, how long can we hold out against the Borg assault?"

"If we dump the Val Jean, I think we're in pretty good shape. The Borg cube's weapons are more sophisticated than the spheres, but our shields are holding. It would be a stalemate."

"No, keep our shields extended around the Val Jean."

"In that case, I can give you ten minutes, maybe fifteen. After that, we'll have no choice but to retract the shields and turn tail and run."

"The Borg knows the Enterprise won't be able to protect the Val Jean indefinitely," Seven confirmed.

"Understood. You have the bridge Number One. Picard out." Picard then turned to Chakotay and Seven and said, "We need to get to the transporter room and get you over to the Val Jean."

Chakotay helped Seven off the biobed. She was a little shaky on her feet, so Chakotay kept his arm around her waist. "We'll need B'Elanna for the computer core," Chakotay said.

"And Seska," Seven added. "The two of them together will make the work go more quickly. It should be the four of us that go."

Chakotay nodded, and Picard tapped his comm badge again. "Picard to Commander Worf."

"Yes Captain?"

"Contact the Val Jean crew and have B'Elanna and Seska escorted to transporter room three immediately. Beam them there if you have to. And Mister Worf, arm all the Val Jean crew with phasers in case we're boarded."

"Yes sir. Understood."

Picard moved to the sickbay exit. "Come quickly, we have little time."

The three of them made their way through the Enterprise to transporter room three. Seven felt different. Lighter without the Borg armor and more exposed. It was a strange sensation to feel the hair on her head move, and a hundred other things. The remaining Borg implants on her skin were irritated as they rubbed against the fabric of her outfit. Chakotay's powerful arms held her, and with each step, she felt more comfortable.

They turned a corner and then entered the transporter room. B'Elanna and Seska were already there waiting for them.

"You're relieved chief," Picard said to the duty officer, "report to Engineering."

"Aye sir," the chief replied, and left without question.

"What the hell is going on?" B'Elanna asked.

"Are we being attacked by the Borg?" Seska added gesturing to the ceiling, and as if on cue, there were more distant sounds of explosions as weapons fire impacted against the Enterprise's shields.

"The Borg want the Val Jean," Chakotay explained as Picard moved to the transporter controls. "This particular faction wants to know how we resisted assimilation. We must go back and retrieve the computer core and what we can in the next few minutes while the Enterprise's shields are still protecting it."

B'Elanna looked stunned. "What of all our personal items?"

"I'll see what I can do," Chakotay said, ushering the others onto the transporter pad. "You and Seska, get the core. Seven and I need to first collect T'Vora's notes on the nanoprobes and wipe the active memory on the bridge interface. After that, we can try and pick up anything else in the time we have."

As they were talking, they had moved onto the transporter pads, and so the four were now assembled there. The Enterprise shook again from another hit on the shields by Borg weapons. Chakotay looked at Picard and nodded.

"Good luck… Captain," Picard said, a peculiar look on his face as he said the last word, and activated the controls. The four disappeared and rematerialized in the Val Jean's cargo bay. The Borg drones were still scattered on the floor where they had fallen. There was an eerie stillness to the cargo bay, as if the Val Jean itself knew it was near its end.

"Back here in five minutes," Chakotay ordered, more to break the silence than to remind the others of the limited time.

B'Elanna and Seska moved off together towards engineering and the access tubes.

"You go directly to T'Vora's quarters and get her PADD," Chakotay said to Seven as the two followed towards the central shaft. "I'll head to the bridge and upper deck and pick up some odds and ends."

"Mementos?" Seven queried.

They reached the central shaft and started climbing. "This crew spent ten years in the Delta Quadrant," Chakotay replied. "There's a bag in my quarters. I intend to stuff it with as much as I can after I wipe the memory buffer on the bridge."

"I'll do the same on the middle deck," Seven replied. "Meet me here after you finish up there." She was behind Chakotay and stepped off onto the middle deck. Chakotay continued to the upper deck.

Seven went directly to T'Vora's quarters. T'Vora shared her quarters with Marina Jor, and one glance was enough to determine which side each belonged to. The PADD was perched neatly by the side of T'Vora's bed on a small table as Seven suspected. She had spent a number of occasions in this room in the past month as she and Marina had become friends. Beside the PADD was what looked like a medallion. Seven vaguely recognized it as an IDIC meditation icon, and snatched up both. She looked about the quarters and picked up a pair of pants draped over the end of Marina's bed. After tying the legs shut, she put the PADD and icon into it, intending to use it to carry what she could find. She could only spend seconds in each room if there was any hope of getting through the entire ship in the time allowed. She looked about frantically to try and ascertain what might be most important to her friend. Finally, she saw a holo-imager and some jewelry on the small table beside Marina's bed. She swept her hand over and pushed it all into the makeshift bag.

After that, Seven went directly to the similar table by each crew members bed and took whatever was there. O'Donnell, Jarvis, Torres, Paris, Kim, Gerron, Chell, Tabor. A small snapshot of each individual, each unique personality, as she made her way through the rooms and grabbed what she could. All these individuals. All these friends. A sense of melancholy nearly overwhelmed her at the thought that the Val Jean would soon be assimilated and likely destroyed. The Val Jean, her home. She had made it through half of the rooms when Chakotay rejoined her.

"I've completed this corridor," Seven explained, her voice thick with emotion, and noting the bag Chakotay was holding added, "I've found it expedient to simply take whatever is on the tables by each bed. We can sort it out later."

"What do we have left?"

"The two starboard corridors," Seven responded. "You take the one forward, and I'll take this one."

They moved off quickly, but then Picard's voice came over the comm. "Away team, it's not going well. We have perhaps a minute before we'll have to retract the shields."

"We have the core," B'Elanna replied. "We're bringing it back to the cargo bay and away from the warp core for transport."

"We'll be right there," Chakotay said and went into the next room.

He was finishing the last when Picard came back on. "Away team, get to the transport coordinates immediately!"

Chakotay and Seven nearly leaped down the central shaft to the lower deck and quickly joined the others. Seska was holding the computer core in her arms. Suddenly, Chakotay turned towards Seven's quarters in the back of the cargo bay. "Seven, we forgot about your things!"

Seven wrapped her free arm about Chakotay's waist and replied, "I have what I need."

"Now Chakotay," Picard said over the open comm. "We've run out of time!"

"Energize!" Chakotay called back.

It was a longer transport than usual, but eventually the four of them rematerialized back on the Enterprise. Seska was the first to step off the pad, holding the Val Jean's computer core, and placed it down carefully on the deck. The four of them exchanged looks of relief and then started to follow.

"A moment," Picard said, holding up his hand.

"Bridge to Transporter Room Three," Riker called over the comm. "Captain, did you get them?"

"They're in the pattern buffer Number One," Picard responded cryptically and motioned for them all to stay quiet. "I'm trying to retrieve them now. Release the Val Jean, retract the shields, and go to warp."

"Aye Captain."

When the comm channel was closed, Chakotay asked, "What's that all about?"

"I'm buying time," Picard responded. He stepped out from behind the transporter controls and approached the pads. "I have a shuttlecraft hidden in a sensor shadow off the port stern. It is mirroring our trajectory, even at warp. I could beam you and Seven there and then say you were lost in the transport back from the Val Jean."

"For what purpose?" Seven asked.

"You don't understand," Picard said with a frown. He turned away, as if embarrassed. "Star Fleet Command is interested in your nanoprobe reprogramming. I'm afraid when we do get to Starbase Twelve, you would likely be sequestered by Star Fleet Research and not let go. The fact that you were once a Borg drone will not serve you well. I… apologize for my callousness from earlier Seven. I let my prejudice against the Borg, and against the Maquis, affect my views. The Borg is a real threat, and Star Fleet is particularly worried. Regardless, I will not risk or allow more of your life to be stolen from you because of the Borg or Star Fleet Command."

Picard was giving them a chance to escape. A chance at a new start. But if the threat was real, perhaps she should go willingly to Star Fleet Research to help? She knew all too well the horrors of the Borg. Then a thought occurred to her. "T'Vora holds the key Captain," Seven responded. "Ask her to continue her research. I believe she can help."

Picard brightened, and he nodded vigorously. "I will, but time is of the essence. Let me beam you to the shuttlecraft. Let me give both of you a chance to disappear and start afresh."

"Wait!" Seska said. She stepped back towards Seven and Chakotay. "Let me go as well."

"Seska," Picard replied. "You and the rest of the Maquis are covered by the amnesty. When we get to Starbase Twelve, you are free to go wherever you wish."

Seska shook her head. "You don't understand. There's no future for me here. There's no place for me."

"Your Cardassian heritage is irrelevant," Picard countered. "Your secret is safe."

Seska looked at Picard surprised. B'Elanna then stepped up to Seska and placed her hand on the other woman's shoulder. "We'll figure something out," B'Elanna said. "You won't be alone."

Seska turned to face B'Elanna and then nodded and stepped back.

"It's time," Picard said and moved back to the controls. He paused and then looked up at Chakotay and Seven who were still on the transporter pads. There was something else. "One last thing," he said haltingly. "There was a Bajoran Star Fleet officer who joined the Maquis, Ro Laren."

"I know Laren," Chakotay replied.

A multitude of emotions played out across Picard's face. "She's one of the Maquis who has never been accounted for. If you do run into her. If you do find her. Tell her… Tell her I miss her. Would you do that for me?"

"Of course," Chakotay replied, and then to B'Elanna and Seska, "when the time is right, tell the rest what happened to us." He took the bag off his shoulder and tossed it beside the computer core and Seven did the same with the makeshift bag she was carrying. "The two of you are now the leaders of the remaining Val Jean crew. Wait for a message from us. We'll all meet again soon."

Picard adjusted the controls. "Good luck Captain," he said, and then both Chakotay and Seven dematerialized and were gone.

#

The dealer circled the shuttlecraft one last time. He was an older Ferengi, and he fidgeted as he regarded the vessel. "True, it's in… fair condition," he mused. "But it will be difficult for me to resell without the proper documentation. I don't see the profit in that."

A man and woman stood close to one another off to the side. Both were dressed casually. The man had dark hair with a touch of gray at the sides and a tattoo extending from his hairline out onto one of his temples. He was soft spoken and sturdily built. The woman was tall and statuesque with fair skin and a shock of short blonde hair. Above one of her eyes was a metallic silver device, and one of her hands was encased in a similar web like glove.

"The trade we're asking for is worth half as much," the man replied evenly. "We can always go somewhere else."

"You'll be getting a bigger ship," the dealer protested and appeared agitated. Both the man and woman were unmoved. The dealer realized they wouldn't be swayed by his machinations. He rubbed one of his lobes in thought, and then said, "OK, OK, you've got yourself a trade."

The man nodded satisfactorily and extended his hand to the dealer. The dealer looked puzzled for a moment, but then reached out and shook the man's hand. It was a strange custom of these hu-mans.

"And what names should I put on the bill of sale?" the dealer asked. "Of course, you will be given the requisite papers and it will be all well documented and legitimate."

"Marius and Cosette Pontmercy, of Dorvan Five," the woman responded.

The Ferengi paused and looked up with curiosity. "Dorvan Five, you say," a question in his voice. He paused for a moment, and then continued more thoughtfully. "I once lived on a planet along the border between Federation and Cardassian space. I was forced out." The dealer dawdled a bit more, and then added. "A tragedy, Dorvan Five. My condolences. None of the planetary records were saved, so I understand."

The man nodded.

The dealer seemed to consider something. "In circumstances such as this," he finally said, "I can often help in obtaining a new set of papers to replace those that were lost. If you are interested."

"That would be lovely," the woman responded.

The dealer nodded. "Let me go and see to that then," he said with a smile. He then turned to the man and added, "About that other matter you asked of before. Perhaps I do have some information that might help you find what you are looking for."

When the dealer had left, the man turned to the woman with a bemused look. "Marius and Cosette? From Hugo's Les Misérables?"

"It is fitting," the woman countered, a slight upturn at the corner of her lips. "I was separated from my parents, being raised by a cruel family, when Val Jean saved me. I was then nurtured and grew into an individual in the comfort of Val Jean's care, and finally fell in love with a revolutionary. You Marius."

"Ah. In one adaptation, a revolutionary who cared more about the founding principles and ideals of the government, and was willing to give everything away to fight against the government for those ideals. And then he met this girl…"

The woman raised an eyebrow, as she was apt to do when intrigued by a suggestion.

The man reached out and took the woman's hand. "And so, Cosette, my love. Val Jean is now gone. It appears we'll soon be joined on paper, but I wish to make that a more official union as soon as we are able."

The woman blushed and smiled coyly. "Oh my dear Marius. That is my desire as well."

#

THE END

Author's note: And so now there's only one more Alternatives AU to go. Before I move on to that story, however, I'm thinking of writing another C/7 story(ies) that have a common theme and will serve as an epilogue or prologue or something in between for each of the different "Alternatives" AUs and the "That Good Night" post-Endgame universe. If there are loose ends in any of those timelines, or something you'd like to be included, speak up now so I can include them.

This was a fun story to write. Most everyone from this story will return for one last one-shot or chapter and we'll find out what happens after several months in the Alpha Quadrant when the crew of the late ship Val Jean are reunited again on or near Bajor.

And finally, thank you scifiromance, The Cheshire Cheese, Alaster Boneman and Holta for your reviews of the last chapter. They do serve as encouragement to write the next. And to all those who reviewed, followed or favorited this story or my previous stories, THANK YOU! (And thank you lizzy74656 - I corrected Darvon to Dorvan!)